Duke Energy Records under audit

The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff in Columbia is auditing Duke Energy’s books and records to assess the fairness of the utility’s request to raise its rates in the Palmetto State. Duke Energy Carolinas filed a request with the South Carolina Public Service Commission to raise electric rates by about $220 million, which is an overall increase of 15.1%. However, the average rate increase applying to Duke Energy’s residential customers would exceed 16%. Residential, commercial and industrial ratepayers of Duke Energy are welcome to attend and speak at any of a series of public hearings. Those hearings take place next month in Anderson and Greenville, among other places. Duke Energy said more than half of the request is driven by capital investments in the electric systems. One investment is at Oconee Nuclear Station, where $141 million is being spent for new safety and security measures to protect the plant from extreme conditions or a natural disaster.